Amarillo goalie Mike Gorman dives to block a shot as Scott Sheppard moves in for a possible rebound opportunity

Brahmas make it two in a row in Amarillo

Score three goals in less than three minutes to win 4-3

The Amarillo Gorillas have a new head coach, new sweaters and a new attitude, but none of those factors helped them against the Texas Brahmas this weekend. Although they fought hard and played well, the Gorillas suffered another loss; their eighth in a row (longest losing streak in the CHL this season) after collapsing in the third period tonight in front of 2,789 fans at the Amarillo Civic Center. Amarillo is now 1-2-1 against Texas, with all four games decided by a goal.

With the win, the Brahmas improved to 26-10-4 with 56 points and with a loss by the Laredo Bucks, they now hold an eight-point lead in the Southeast Division.

The Brahmas had two goals refused by officials in the first period. Scott Sheppard found himself with a wide open net after Mike Gorman batted the puck out of mid-air in front of the crease. Sheppard's shot went into the net just after it came off its moorings. Referee Kevin Graber ruled that Gorman had dislodged the net and Sheppard was awarded a penalty shot. Sheppard's shot went wide and flung off the side of the net.

Later, Jason Deitsch got hold of the puck after it hit the broken stick of John Snowden. Deitsch came in on a short-handed breakaway and skated right into Gorman before his shot went into the un-moored net. Deitsch was called for Goalie Interference and served two minutes on the minor instead of getting the score.

The Brahmas did score at the 10:13 mark after Greg McConnell was pushed by a Gorilla defenseman and laid out Mike Gorman in front of the net. Gorman was slow in getting up and without his stick, left the net unguarded just long enough for Jordan Cameron to shoot the puck past him to make it 1-0. Grant Jacobsen was credited with the assist.

Brett Jaeger was perfect in the first 20 minutes, stopping 10 shots. Gorman stopped 8 of 9. The Brahmas went 0 for 1 in their powerplay opportunity. The Gorillas went 0 for 4 on the man-advantage. The Brahmas remain unbeaten this season after leading after one period.

The second period was a defensive battle with few scoring opportunities for each team. The Gorillas managed to tie it up at the 12:08 after John Snowden tipped the puck to Travis Lisabeth at the right circle as a Brahmas defender found himself out of position. Lisabeth rifled his shot past the gloved hand of Brett Jaeger to make it a 1-1 game. Alex Grieg was also in on the assist for the Gorillas.

The Gorillas held the Brahmas scoreless in the middle period for the second night in a row, although the Brahmas outshot them 14-7.

Neither team was able to capitalize on the powerplay through 40 minutes of play. That changed at the start of the third period. The Gorillas had 1:11 left on the man-advantage on an interference call on Tyler Skworchinski. They came out attacking and scored after only 20 seconds. Former Brahma Stuart MacRae got his ninth goal of the season, forcing a deflected puck past Jaeger to give the Gorillas their first lead of the night. John Snowden and Sam Ftorek were in on the assist.

Less than four minutes later, Amarillo scored another powerplay goal after Jake Morrissette made three attempts in front of the crease, successful on the final try to give the Gorillas a two goal lead at the 4:15 mark. This time, Stuart MacRae and Sam Ftorek were in on the assist.

Like last night, the action really intensified in the final period. The Brahmas finally scored a powerplay goal of their own at the 11:12 mark, just 22 seconds into the man-advantage after Amarillo forward Michael Handza was called for elbowing. Kevin McLeod scored the goal with the assist from Nathan Saunders and Travis Banga to make it 3-2.

Less than two minutes later, the Brahmas scored again; this time an even-strength goal by McLeod with the assist from Nathan Saunders and Scott Sheppard at the 13:40 mark to tie it at three.

The Gorillas third period collapse continued just 38 seconds later. Tyler Skworchinski took control of the puck, splitting two Gorillas defenders in the Amarillo zone and skated in on a breakaway, scoring on Gorman to give the Brahmas the 4-3 lead and ultimately the win.

"I was kind of ahead on the play. Somehow I squirted between the two d-men. They ran into each other and I saw an opening on the glove-side," Skworchinski told the Amarillo Globe-News. "Maybe there was a little frustration on their part, I don't know. They battled hard both nights. It could have went either way both nights."

Amarillo could not recover after giving up three consecutive goals in less than three minutes.

The Brahmas had a 18-10 shot advantage in the third period and went 41-27 in the game.

Brett Jaeger earned the win and improved to 19-5-4-2. Mike Gorman was fantastic in goal tonight for Amarillo in the first two periods but took the loss. His record falls to 8-14-1.

The Brahmas were assessed 22 minutes on 11 penalties tonight. Amarillo received 18 minutes on 9 infractions. The Brahmas went 1 for eight on the powerplay. Amarillo went 2 for 10.

Tyler Skworchinski earned the third star for his game-winning goal. Amarillo's Sam Ftorek received the second star for his two assists and Kevin McLeod was awarded the first star for his two third period goals that brought the Brahmas back into the game.

You can view the box score here

The Brahmas travel back to North Richland Hills tonight and will prepare for an early game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The game starts at 3:05pm. The Brahmas will be testing out their own CHL broadcast on Nifty-TV. Cody Eastwood will be the Brahmas broadcaster in his first ever professional game broadcast.

Photo Credit: Michael Norris / Amarillo Globe-News